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On June 1, 2007, the new Washington child passenger safety laws took effect, and law enforcement officers are on the street trying to educate adults on why they're important. In a nutshell, the law states that children younger than 13 must ride in the back seat, and booster seats are required until children are 4-foot-9 or 8 years old.
According to 800bucklup.org, the law actually states: "A child must be restrained in a child restraint system,if the passenger seating position equipped with a safety belt system allows sufficient space for installation, until the child is eight years old, unless the child is four feet nine inches or taller." Does this mean that if you don't have sufficient space, you don't have to buckle your kids in?
The law further states that: "The child restraint system must comply with standards of the United States department of transportation and must be secured in the vehicle in accordance with instructions of the vehicle manufacturer and the child restraint system manufacturer." If you're not sure whether or not your child restraint system complies, you might consult a child passenger safety technician who is certified to inspect, adjust and advise on the proper use of restraint systems. Don't think about suing, though, if your child is injured after the restraint system has been inspected. The law states that technicians, for the most part, are not liable for civil damages resulting from any act or omission in providing their services.
Another provision of this new law is that children under thirteen years of age must be transported in the back seat positions in the vehicle -- where it is practical to do so, that is. I see two problems with this: First, 12-year-olds on the verge of becoming teenagers will most likely take offense at being referred to as "children." Secondly, these pre-teens may not take kindly to being relegated to the diaper gallery if they've become accustomed to riding shotgun within reach of the car's stereo system. So, if you have four "children" and only three seatbelts in the back seat, can your pre-teen still ride shotgun? It may seem practical to you, but it also must pass inspection by law enforcement.
Enforcement of these laws is "subject to a visual inspection by law enforcement to determine if the child restraint system in use is appropriate for the child's individual height, weight, and age. The visual inspection for usage of a child restraint system must also ensure that the child restraint system is being used in accordance with the instruction of the vehicle and the child restraint system manufacturers. According to an article published in The Spokesman-Review on June 11, 2007, titled "New law hardly child's play," and written by Jody Lawrence-Turner, a police officer may "stop a vehicle for the primary reason a child is not secured properly" or "if he or she thinks a child in the front seat is younger than 13."
This may sound a bit subjective; however, according to Officer John Gately who was quoted in the newspaper article, "When you look at people all day, you get pretty good at figuring out how old they are."
You may be happy to know that there are exceptions for allowing an underage child to ride in the front seat. According to Officer Teresa Fuller, "If there are only lap belts in the back seat and there are shoulder and lap belts in the front seat, then it's safer in front. If it's an extended-cab truck and the seats face the inside of the truck, then it's safer for the child to ride in front." When asked if children can ride in a truck bed and whether or not they need to be secured, Office Fuller replied:
"Yes [they may ride in the truck bed]. But it's terribly unsafe." And there are no restrictions for how a child should be secured.
Lastly, we wanted to mention some of the exceptions to this new law. It does not apply to (a) for-hire vehicles; (b) vehicles designed to transport 16 or less passengers, including the driver, operated by auto transportation companies; (c) vehicles providing customer shuttle service between parking, convention, and hotel facilities, and airport terminals; and (d) school buses.
And possibly the best news for parents and legal guardians is that failure to comply with the requirements of these new laws does not constitute negligence by said parent or legal guardian. However, you can expect to receive a traffic ticket if an officer pulls you over for the offense.
What are your thoughts on these new laws? How are your kids taking to the new restrictions? Do you have a 12-year-old who objects to riding in the back seat and would like to comment on the new law? What do you think about school buses being exempt from these laws? Have you already been ticketed for breaking one of these laws and how much did it cost you? Email us and we'll post your comments on Spokane.net. If you don't have time to write, then feel free to vote in our PulsePoll.
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Poll Results ...
Question:
"What do you think of the new Child Passenger Safety laws that became effective June 1 in Washington state?"
Results:
Good laws; our children should be safer -- 21.4%
Not very practical for families with 4 or more children -- 50.0%
Too subjective regarding enforcement -- 14.3%
Poorly written; a nightmare for parents -- 14.3%
Don't have to worry about it -- 0.0%
Undecided -- 0.0%
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